County engineer outlines Bona Vesta land swap and funding plan; commissioners consider conservancy and regional planning

The county engineer briefed commissioners on the Bona Vesta stormwater/wetland project, explaining that assembling the required acreage will require a land exchange among two private owners and that staff have submitted requests for capital-budget and H2Ohio funding.

The engineer said draft exchange agreements are in circulation with the landowners and promised to share an updated draft with the county prosecutor and county administrator. "We have to do this land swap to make it happen," the engineer said, and staff identified next steps: finalize an agreement that commits owners to the swap, then pursue available grant funding and design work.

Commissioners discussed how the project could be maintained and who would bear costs. The engineer and commissioners debated whether to pursue a petition for drainage maintenance after construction or to establish an ongoing maintenance mechanism. Commissioner discussion touched on forming a Williams County conservancy or partnering with Soil & Water to manage long-term stewardship and to provide a framework for handling future development impacts such as solar fields or data centers.

Several commissioners urged starting a comprehensive planning process to manage large-scale development and utility infrastructure rather than reacting on a project-by-project basis. The board asked staff to pursue potential funding for a county-level comprehensive study, explore use of regional planning commission resources and return with a recommended path forward.

Next steps: finalize the land-swap draft for owner review, pursue available capital and H2Ohio funding, and return to the board with refined cost estimates and an outline for stewardship and maintenance.